27/Jan/2007

Islay -vs- Singapore

You might wonder what Islay has to do with Singapore. So was I when Islay popped up in a report about Singapore titled Wok of life. But there is a reason, which also allows for some interesting comparisons:

IMAGINE if everyone in Scotland lived on an island no bigger than Islay, all crowded into one gleaming modern city, working around the busiest port and one of the biggest airports in the world. Imagine that and you get some idea of what the city-state of Singapore is like.

For those interested in the numbers, Singapore has an area of 700 km² (270 sq mi) and a population of 4.5m. Islay is approx 600 km² (239 sq mi) big and has a population of approx 3,500, growing to may be 10,000 during the busy summer months if you include the tourists. And just for completeness, Scotland has a population of just over 5m on an area of 78,772 km² (30,414 sq mi).

The highest building(s) I can think of on Islay are probably the Maltings in Port Ellen (My estimate: around 30-40m high), Singapore's tallest skyscrapers are 280m high. 23% of Singapore's land are forests and nature reserves, I think far less than that is build up on Islay, i.e has houses, roads or other man made objects on it. Islay is remote and it is quite easy to find secluded spots you'll have for yourself, I imagine it is fairly difficult to escape the hustle and bustle of the big town on Singapore, let alone finding lonely spaces.

I think you can guess which one I prefer...

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About this blog:

This is a blog about the Isle of Islay, an island in the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. It is run by Armin Grewe, a regular visitor to the Island. I don't live on Islay (yet?), but that doesn't stop me blogging about Islay.

I will blog about anything Islay related I can think of: pictures, news, links, whisky, bird watching, wildlife, you name it.